Machine for covering corset-stays



N. PETERS. Phnm-Lixhngmpher, washngmn, DA t;

2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

(No Model.)

W. A. NBTTLBTON.

Y MACHINE FOR GQVEBING GORSETSI'AYS.- No. 355,199.

Patented Deb. 28, 1886.

/77 1/57 7207"/ Ma-#MM Vl/' #755555/ i NITED STATES,

PATENT tries.

VILLIAM A. NETTLETON, OF BRIDGEPORT, CONNECTICUT. u C

"MoHrNE Foa CovERlNe oonsEr-sr/ws.4

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 355,199l dated December 28, 1886.

Application filed March 2, 1886.

.To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM A. NETTLE- TON, a citizen of the United States, residing at Bridgeport, in the county of Fairfield and State of Connecticut, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Machines for Covering Corset-Stays; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and-exact description of the invention, such as will enableothers skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention has for its object the production of mechanism for covering separate trimmed corset-steels or dress-stays with cloth, paper, or any suitable material. Heretofore it has been common to cover a continuousflat spring or strip of wire with paper or cloth, which strip was then cut into suitablelengths for corset-stays. This method, however, required that the ends of the stays should be finished in some manner, or capped. By my present invention I automatically cover stays'. already cut into proper lengths, leaving any desired length of cloth between the stays, and nally eut the cloth at any desired place after the stays have been covered. In order to accomplish these resultsin a simple and economical manner, and to turn out the finished product at a high rate of speed, I have devised the novel machine of which the following description, in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification, numbers being used upon the drawings to indicate the several parts of the machine.

t Figure l is a side elevation; Fig. 2, a transverse section on the line x and Fig. 3 is an end elevation looking toward the left in Fig. 1, the frame-work beingin section on the line For convenience in illustration, certain of the journatbearings are removed in Figs. 1 and 3.

l indicates frame-work, which may be of any suitable construction; and 2, a cylinder, provided with grooves vor depressions 3, which is journaled in standards4, projecting upward from and secured in any suitable manner to the frame-work. I have shownfour grooves in the cylinder, but any other suitable num- Serial No. 193.740. (No model.)

ber may be used, depending, of course, upon the size of the cylinder and the adjustment of the machine. l

5 indicates a magazine, which is placed just above the cylinder, and is supported by eX- tensions 6 upon standards 4.

x 7 is a guard,which extends downward. from the magazine, fitting the cylinder' closely, but allowing the latter to turn freely therein, and ending at the under side of the cylinder, as will be more fullyexplained. Y

8 and 9 indicate, respectively, upper and lower forming or breaking-down rollers; and 10, the strip of cloth, paper, or other material with which the stays are covered. The function of rollers 8 and 9 is to form the strip in a trough shape, as is clearly illustrated and described in patent to Nettleton and Littlejohn, No. 340,347, dated April 20, 1886.

1l indicates a folder of any suitable construction; 12 and 13, respectively, the upper and lower drawing and pressing rollers5and -14 and l5, respectively, the upper and lower cutting-rollers, which may also be made to act as drawing-rollers, if desired.

In order that the drawing or cutting rollers, or both, should at all times act to draw the strip forward, whether acting on a stay or on the cloth between the stays, it is necessary that one or more of saidrollers should be journaled in spring-boxes 16.

In Fig. l I have shown the lower pressingroller as journaled in this manner, 'the box being of ordinary construction. In use, as the stay passes out from between the drawingrollers, the springs act to`rais'e the lower roller, so that they bear upon the strip of cloth between t-he stays with sufficient pressure to continue the feeding without the slightest break, the springs yielding again as another stay passes between the rollers.

Motion is imparted to the pressing and drawing rollers by a pulley, 17, upon the end of an extended shaft, 18, of one of said rollers, a belt from this pulley running to a main or counter shaft. (Not shown.) Should it.be desired to impart independent motion to rollers 14 and 15, another pulley and belt may be provided upon shaft 13., or a pulley upon another shaft may is rigidly secured thereto. Intermittent ro-` tary motion is imparted to the cylinder by means of a pawl, 20, which is pivoted to a vibrating lever, 2l, in such a manner as to be rigid during the upward movement of said lever, and to turn backward, as clearly shown in dotted lines in Fig. 3, as it passes over the teeth of the ratchet during the downward movement of said lever.

Lever 21 is pivoted in standard 22, and a spring, 23, attached to said lever and to the standard, acts to return said lever to its lowf est position, as clearly indicated in Fig. 1.

At the rear end of said lever is an extension, 24, which projects inward, and is provided at its end with a downwardly-projecting angular arm, 25, which is engaged by an anti-friction roller, 26, carried by a pin, 27, upon one of the drawing and pressing rollers. During each revolution of the drawing and pressing rollers roller 26 is brought in contact with arm 25,*and acts to draw down the rear end of lever 21, which of course raises the forward end, carrying pawl 20 upward against the power of spring 23. As the pawl is raised it engages one of the teeth of the ratchet, and carries said ratchet forward until the pawl slips off the tooth when near the upper limit of the vibration of the lever. By the time that the pawl has slipped 0E from the tooth roller 26 has also passed off from arm 25, thus leaving spring 23 free to return the lever to its normal position-that is, substantially as shown in full-lines in Fig. 1, the dotted lines in said figure indicating the position of roller 26, the arm, and the lever just as roller 26 one of the stays therein, said stays being indi-l passes off from the arm.

The operation of the machineis as follows: The strip of cloth or paper passes in at.the left of the machine in Fig. 1, passing directly under the cylinder, as is clearly indicated in Fig. 2. As the cylinder rotates, each groove as it is brought under the magazine receives cated by 28. The grooves in the cylinder are just deep enough to receive one stay, care being taken to leave them shallow enough, so that the edge of the groove will not catch upon the next stay. The stays are fed downward by gravity alone, as indicated in Fig. 2;or, if preferred, a weight may be used, as shown in the patent referred to above. Having passed int-o the groove in the cylinder, the stay is -held there by the guard until the groove is brought to the under side of the cylinder, at which instant the stay will drop into the strip, which has been bent into trough shape, as is clearly indicated in Fig. 2, in which a stay is shown as just dropping into the strip. Having received the stay, the forward movement of the strip continues, and the folder 11, which may At the 'be of any ordinary or preferred' construction,

acts to press one fold of the strip down upon the stay, and then to press the other fold down upon that, it being of course understood that the strip has been glued or pasted in any 'suitable manner-for example, as shown in the patent referred to above. After leaving the folder the strip,with the stay within it,.passes Y between the drawing and pressing rollers, which press the folds of the stri p down firmly upon it. As the forward movement of the strip, with the stay within it, continues, it passes between the cutting-rollers, by which it is severed midway between the stays, it being of course understood that the length of cloth between the stays depends upon the adjustment of the machine.

I do not desire to limit myself to the exact details of construction shown and described, `as it' is obvious that they may be widely varied without departing from the spirit of my invention.

I claim* 1. In a machine for covering'stays, rollers which form the strip, a magazine for holding the stays, and a rotating 4vcylinder under said magazine which is provided with slots, into which the stays drop singly, in combination with a guard partially encircling said cylinder, by which the stays are held in said grooves until carried to the strip, a folder which closes the strip upon the stays, and drawing-rollers.

2. The magazine, cylinder having slots, as shown, and the guard, in combination with a ratchet secured to `said cylinder, a hinged pawl upon a vibrating lever, whereby intermittent rotary motion is imparted to the cylinder, and drawing and pressing rollers.

3. The magazine, guard, and cylinder having grooves and ratchet, as shown, in combination with lever 21, carrying a hinged pawl, and having an extension with an arm, 25, a pair of drawing-rollers, and means-for eX- ample, a roller carried by a pin upon one of the drawing-rollers-whereby vibratory motion is imparted to said lever.

4. In a machine for covering stays, a rotating cylinder having a ratchet secured at its end, and a pair of drawing and pressing rollers, one of which is provided with a pin carrying an anti-friction roller, 26,-in combination with a vibrating lever, 21, having at one end apawl hinged at its upper side, and at its other end an extension with an arm adapted to be engaged by roller 26, and spring 23, whereby when said arm is engaged by roller 26 the pawl is lifted and carries the ratchet forward, and as soon as roller 26 passes from the arm the lever is returned to its normal position, the pawl turning backward upon its hinge and passing freely over the ratchetteeth.

5. The magazine, guard, cylinder, and

IOO

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tially as described, the folder,anddrawing and In testimony whereof I affix my signature in 1o pressing rollers, one of Whichis provided with presence of two witnesses.

pin 27 l 6. The magazine and grooved cylinder and ratchet, paWl, Vamd lever, whereby intermittent motion is imparted thereto, in combination Witnesses:

with a folder, drawing and pressing rollers, I A. M. WoosTER,

and cutting-rollers, as and for the purpose set l C. E. RUGGLEs.

forth.

VILLIAMV A'. NETTLETON. 

